FRANK MIR'S REBOUNDS TO ULTIMATE FIGHTER 8

Frank Mir freely admits that Brock Lesnar gave him a second shot at UFC gold after his nearly career ending motorcycle accident in 2004.

Lesnar was expected to use his meat cleaver hands to smash Mir into bits, a steppingstone on the way to a heavyweight title shot. Lesnar did just that for the first 80 seconds or so. But according to Mir, it was his newfound ability to handle setbacks that prevented him from folding under pressure, submitting the wrestling star in just 91 seconds. And it wasn’t some expensive mental coach or guru or self-help tape that helped him get back on track. It was a good old-fashioned ass kicking at hands of his wife.

Mir’s turnaround began in a Sacramento hotel room after UFC 65. He had just been trounced by Brandon Vera. Mir couldn’t understand it; he was fully recovered and had trained hard. He was even eating right, something he struggled with in the past. Sitting on the hotel bed, he couldn’t even remember getting hit by Vera’s knee, or any of the punches that followed before the fight was stopped.